U.S. Cycling Team athlete Paul Wood trains during training camp last week in Chia-Yi, Taiwan. The nine-time medalist led the U.S. Deaflympic Team as flag-bearer during the Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Taipei Games on Sept. 5, 2009. (Photo by Jason Chiou)
Cyclist Paul Wood leads U.S. Team as flag-bearerby Colin Whited on September 5, 2009 American cyclist Paul Wood begins his swan song with an honor few deaf athletes earn: flag-bearer for the U.S. Deaflympic Team at tonight’s 2009 Taipei Deaflympics Opening Ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan. Wood, 41 and a Fortville, Ind., native, is competing in his sixth consecutive Deaflympics at the 2009 Taipei Games this month, a rare feat for a sport that demands great physical strength and endurance. The nine-time medalist, widely regarded as the best deaf sprinter in the world, has won four gold medals along with four silvers and one bronze. U.S. Deaflympic Team Director Billy Bowman said he was "honored to make this announcement because of Paul Wood's milestones." The American flag-bearer for each Deaflympics traditionally is chosen from a pool of nominations submitted by coaches of each U.S. team. The U.S. Deaflympic Committee reviews the nominations and selects a flag-bearer based on exemplary athletic performance, character, and demonstration of the values of the U.S. Deaflympic mission. After fulfilling his duties at the opening ceremony, Wood looks to bounce back from a disappointing showing at the 2005 Melbourne Games, where he made zero trips to the podium. He will compete in all four cycling events: the 1000m Match Sprint, Time Trial, 50km Point Race, and 100km Road Race. As a sprinting specialist, the match sprint and point race are Wood’s strengths. There’s no reason to believe Wood is on the decline. In the months leading up to the Taipei games, he adopted a rigorous training schedule. He worked out three times a week and races in open competitions that feature the top cyclists in the nation every weekend. “The key to succeeding in the Deaflympics is how hard I train in the months leading up to the competition,“ Wood said. A year after failing to medal in Melbourne, Wood responded with the gold in the 1000m sprint in the 2006 World Deaf Cycling Championships in San Francisco, dominating the field by winning by more than three-tenths of a second and reclaiming his spot as the world’s top sprinter. The Games in 2005 were “disappointing,” Wood said. “A lot of it had to do with the timing of the Games. With it being winter in America when the Games were held in Australia, my training in the weeks before the Games was limited. The fact of the matter is that my training reflects my results in competitions.” Wood said he races every weekend because the adrenaline he gets from it cannot be achieved even in grueling practice sessions. On July 26, 2009, Wood won the Chicago Criterium, an event considered the No. 1 criterium bike race in the country by USA Cycling. “Winning [in Chicago] was huge. If I can regularly beat top-tier guys, there’s no telling what I can do against the competition in Taipei,” he said. While the Taipei Games is his last as a Deaflympic athlete, Wood said he hopes to remain on the U.S. Cycling squad as a coach. “The feeling of competing against other Deaf people from around the world is priceless. It is what motivates me to be involved in as many Deaflympics as possible,” he said. |
 Paul Wood leads the pack during a U.S. Cycling Team practice last week in Chia-Yi, Taiwan. Wood was selected as flag-bearer for the U.S. Deaflympic contingent at the Opening Ceremony for the 2009 Taipei Games on Sept. 5, 2009. (Photo by Sina McCarthy)
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